Roles & Responsibilities

GIS Definition
Geographic Information Systems is a process, through the use of computers, to apply geographic coordinates to computer databases in order to replicate those databases spatially into a mapping environment. GIS plays an enormous part in the day to day functions of local government as well as to other agencies and organizations, and the public.
Benefits of GIS
By using GIS to support our local government practices we:

Can streamline processes, increasing efficiency, automating tasks, and saving time and money.

Responsibilities
The GIS Department:

Coordinates outside subcontractors that provide technical services to the County GIS infrastructure. GIS also performs custom map creation/production for other local government departments/agencies and the public.

Maintains and supports the server environment that enables the enterprise GIS system.

Offers Database design, maintenance and technical support to County departments.

Provides technical assistance with installation and support of mapping software applications, map configurations and custom programming.

Initiatives
Some of our current initiatives are:Cadastral Base Tax Mapping
GIS helps agencies meet their primary responsibilities of ownership registration, parcel mapping, real property valuation, and data access. GIS provides the tools to more efficiently collect, convert, and improve map data; accurately assess properties; and provide Internet and Intranet access to this data for the public, business, and other organizations. Public access to the parcel data as well as many other data layers is available for viewing from "maps.waynegov.com" or in our Tax office or parcel mapping office through our public access "MapTouch" terminals.

Economic Development
Our community through its internet mapping application using GIS technology allows our county’s information to be available 24/7 allowing access to information that developers may be in search of from other areas of the world. This public access to GIS allows Wayne County to turn our unique resources into economic success, ultimately advancing the quality of life of our citizens and strengthening the economic base of our community by retaining and growing existing businesses and attracting new investments.

Elections
GIS assists the Elections Department with the myriad of tasks associated with the elections process. The voting process is all about geography. To get the correct ballot to the appropriate voter, elections departments must resolve the spatial relationship between the voter’s address and political districts, precinct boundaries, and water and school districts. Currently there are 2 mapping applications within the elections office with a staff person dedicated as the GIS specialist. Databases that are maintained are primarily district boundaries, precinct boundaries, voter location information etc.

Emergency Services and Law Enforcement
GIS allows our law enforcement and emergency services personnel to effectively plan for emergency response, determine mitigation priorities, analyze historical events, and predict future events. GIS can also be used to get critical information to emergency responders upon dispatch. GIS also assists in tactical planning and response. A few of the base map layers that are maintained to achieve this are street centerline data with length and address ranges, and address point data for individual E911 address information and Emergency Service Districts data with responder information. The street centerlines currently contain 8890 street segments, the address point data currently involves 59,803 records and the Emergency Service Districts contains 126 records. It is important to understand that these records are maintained not only for Wayne County but also for all incorporated areas as well.

Planning
No matter how large or small your community, planners must deal with spatial information: parcel, zoning and land use data, addresses, transportation networks, and housing stock. As a planner, we also study and keep track of multiple urban and regional indicators, forecast future community needs, and plan accordingly to guarantee the quality of life for everyone in livable communities. GIS map layers that assist in achieving this goal include zoning, flood zones, national wetlands inventory, regulated blue line streams, water supply – watershed protection areas, soils mapping, census data, street centerline data, address point data, utility infrastructure and parcel data to name a few.